St. Petersburg Governor To Leave Post After Football Stadium Scandal — Reports

Aug. 31, 2016

Georgy Poltavchenko
Kremlin Press Service

St. Petersburg governor Georgy Poltavchenko is to leave his post after Russia's parliamentary elections on Sept. 18, the RBC newspaper reported Wednesday.

The move is alleged to have been triggered ongoing controversy surrounding the city's planned World Cup
stadium, RBC claimed. The Kremlin has refused to confirm or deny the claims,
telling journalists that the president “does not comment on
rumors.”

Numerous scandals surrounding the construction of the new Zenith
Arena football stadium ultimately triggered Poltavchenko planned
departure, according to RBC sources.

The stadium, located on the city's Krestovsky Island, is the
flagship venue for Russia's 2018 World Cup, as well as for the 2020
European Championships. International soccer body FIFA has demanded
that the stadium be completed by the end of this year.

The project has been increasingly over budget since first breaking
ground 10 years ago, with the estimated cost rising to some over $600
million, excluding infrastructure.

Stadium workers once again hit the headlines last week when they
threatened to go on strike due to delayed payment of wages. The city
government announced last week that a new contractor would be brought
in.

Among those tipped to replace Poltavchenko, include Maksim
Sokolov, Russia’s current transport minister, and Sergey Naryshkin,
Russia’s current Duma speaker, RBC reported.